C.R.A.P on the Fly Might Make You the Shiznit- Pt.1

 

  A Case Study w. Anthony Weeks

 

C.R.A.P

C.R.A.P. is pretty ubiquitous in the graphic design world, and by that I don't mean poor quality work (though there is plenty of that), instead C.R.A.P. is actually a litmus test to help define excellent design. It is an acronym that refers to four basic design principles, as described in The Non Designers Design Book, by Robin Williams.

Contrast

Repetition

Alignment

Proximity

If your aren't familiar with these principles,  I'd suggest viewing the following SlideShare presentation by Diane Tchakirides based on the work by Robin Williams. She does a good job of presenting each principle and giving examples.

Principles of Visual Design from Diane Tchakirides Design

On The Fly 

I was interested in exploring how C.R.A.P might be applied to the field of graphic recording/facilitation. Unlike, graphic artists or web designers who can employ grid lines, play with design elements, move things around, or use software to align text; graphic recorders would need to apply C.R.A.P on the fly (meaning live in real time). C.R.A.P defines good design because it relates to how our brains work, and how information can be optimally organized to facilitate comprehension and improve readability.

I figured if anyone was applying C.R.A.P on the fly their work would be the shiznit, and I set out to find someone to use for my impromptu case study. I think Anthony Weeks' work is pretty awesome, so I'm thankful that he is allowing me to use his work to illustrate how C.R.A.P On The Fly might play out. Though pretty much all of the work that I've seen from him applies all of these principles, for the sake of this post, I'll just highlight one principle per piece. Your challenge if you choose to accept it, is to identify the other ones, you can point them out in the comments section if you like. So here goes... The images below are all original work done by Anthony Weeks, and are subject to the original copyrights.


Contrast

The chart above, is a great example of how contrast can be used effectively in graphic recording. There is plenty of contrast going on, which allows viewers to easily distinguish information, and to quickly find the most important points. The title font is used to show the two main areas of the chart, and is easily differentiated from the body text based on color, size, and style. The use of green capital lettering in the body text makes the important points "pop" and is in contrast to the black lower case writing which provides more detail.

In addition to helping page elements stand out from each other, contrast also functions to help elements stand out from the white background. Shading/shadow is used throughout the chart to provide depth and break up the white space. The white boxes around the numbers and exclamation pints are a good example of how a little shadowing set them apart from the background. The use of pastels also provides contrast that helps the graphic elements stand out from the background.

Repetition

 

There are several visual elements that are repeated above, which helps unify the whole piece. Graphic recording is traditionally done on large sheets of paper (4x8 or so), and the gist/tone of the conversation/speech, etc. may change. The above example shows how repetitive elements like color, or shape can help tie the chart together even if the information being presented is different. 

The repetition in this chart is most obvious where you see lists of things. The first list on the left hand side of the paper for instance, employs  pink checkmarks for each point, and each point is written in blue. There are several different groups of information presented in this chart and the use of bullets, and shapes helps the viewer differentiate which points go with each section. For instance in the middle of the chart there are three different sets of info being presented, the information that falls under the statement "there was a need for change" is set apart with thought clouds ( notice too that the cloud shape is repeated at the top of the chart, and even in the bushes at the bottom); The info related to "economic crisis" uses only pink marbles as bullet points with no container; and the information related to "How do we operate as a system?" are set within rectangles with rectangular but still pink bullets). 

Repetition however, doesn't necessarily mean using the exact same element over and over. This chart also uses arrows as a repetitive element that helps guide the eye around the document, but arrows vary in size and style. The little sparkly stars around the title are also repeated across the top of the page this time in a different size and color, yet it still feels unified. 

Lastly, color is also an element that can be used repeatedly to add a sense of consistency. Though it is hard for me to actually restrain myself when I have a set of markers on hand, some graphic recorders are really good at using a limited color palette with great results. I personally love the effect of just using the black, pink, yellow and blue. The colors are used very intelligently and consistently, the pink is repeatedly used for bullet points, and the dark blue is used within the text to help key words stand out. 

Overall the repetitive elements not only make the piece visually appealing, but help to aid understanding by highlighting key words and showing connections between pieces of information. 

So that does it for this installment of C.R.A.P, in the next post I'll take a look at two more charts from Anthony Weeks and see how he uses alignment and proximity.